As expected, Melissa Engel was elected chairwoman of the seven-member council, while Mark Philhower was chosen as vice chairman. Republicans maintained control of the council by a 4-3 margin.

The meeting began with Town Clerk Sandra Wieleba swearing in James “Pete” Brown and the council’s newest member, Timothy Feegel. Philhower then nominated Engel as chairwoman. His motion was seconded by Dean Markham, a Democrat returning to the council after an absence of several years.

Engel will “restore civility” to the council, which had suffered in the past two years from an internal dissension caused by one member who consistently sought to challenge and undermine Chairwoman Patience R. Anderson, Markham said.

“I’m sure my Democratic colleagues will join me in voting in favor of you as chairman,” Markham said, drawing promises of support from Brown and Kevin Reich, the other Democrats on the council.

“Thank you all very much,” Engel said after the council unanimously supported her.

It marked a sharp change of direction for Philhower, who had initially said he would not seek re-election in this year’s election. However, when Republican Councilor Ted Hintz Jr. abruptly withdrew as a candidate at virtually the last moment, Philhower agreed to step forward and fill the vacancy created by Hintz’s departure.

With its leadership settled, the council proceeded to use Robert’s Rules of Order to govern it procedures and adopted the traditional second and fourth Tuesdays as meeting dates.

Town Manager Michael Maniscalco then welcomed the new council. “Two years ago, I presented you with a pretty grim picture of the state of our town,” he said.

However, “The previous council worked very diligently” to develop a proposal for construction of a new town hall/police station on a 5.4-acre parcel of land in the Edgewater Hills mixed-use development.

“Happily, the voters of East Hampton have approved that solution,” which carries an $18.9 million price tag, said Maniscalco, who promised both he and town staff “will do everything in our power bring that project in on time and under budget.”

Still, “A lot of other things in town need to get done,” the manager said. “A lot of our infrastructure has been ignored for a number of years.”

And, with the state still “economically challenged,” the town will need to do more to encourage economic development, Maniscalco said. Accomplishing that will mean “dealing with our water infrastructure,” which has long been a nagging issue, he said.

“We have to grow our grand list not to make East Hampton something that it’s not, but to make it what it is,” Maniscalco said. To help accomplish those goals, he said, “You have one of the highest motivated and qualified staffs standing behind you.

“There is a very, very high level of morale, with every department ready to serve the town of East Hampton and the council,” Maniscalco said.

In response, Engel said, “I’m not the least bit concerned that we won’t do a terrific job.”

Reporter Jeff Mill covers East Hampton, Portland and Cromwell. Contact him at jeff.mill@hearstmediact.com.